Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my flat in Great Shelford. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Great Shelford.

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold flat in Great Shelford. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Great Shelford who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Great Shelford conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Great Shelford. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Great Shelford from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Great Shelford can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Great Shelford state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
• Some Great Shelford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Great Shelford conveyancing transaction. If a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

What makes a Great Shelford lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Great Shelford is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, The Mortgage Works, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Great Shelford - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying

Can you inform me if there are any major works on the horizon that could add a premium to the service fees?